Man gets 66 years to life in prison for rape, robbery

A young man convicted of raping a woman in her Grantville home last year and robbing another in the same neighborhood about a month earlier was sentenced Thursday to more than 66 years to life in prison.

Londrea Eugene Raymond, 21, learned his fate during an emotional hearing in San Diego Superior Court, where one of the victims urged the judge to order the maximum sentence available under the law, and the defendant’s parents begged for mercy on their son.

Judge Frank Brown chose not to go with a maximum term of more than 95 years to life, noting Raymond’s age at the time of the offenses — he was 19 — and that he did not have a serious criminal record.

“He does not have any significant life experience,” the judge said, adding that he also considered Raymond’s methamphetamine use and “family stresses” that factored into his crimes.

A defense attorney said Raymond "couldn’t deal with his girlfriend’s pregnancy and turned to drugs."

But the judge acknowledged the seriousness of the defendant’s crimes and said the evidence used against him in trial was overwhelming.

A jury convicted Raymond in May of rape, forcible oral copulation, robbery and residential burglary. He had been charged in connection with two incidents: one on Dec. 30, 2009, the other on Feb. 3, 2010.

According to court documents, Raymond approached a woman as she sat in the driver's seat of her car outside her apartment complex on Vandever Avenue near Mission Gorge Road. He took the woman's purse from her lap.

The victim told investigators her attacker had a gun.

About a month later, Raymond entered a 26-year-old woman’s apartment in the same area through an unlocked door and forced her into a back room about 10:30 p.m. He had the pellet gun with him, which investigators later determined was inoperable.

Raymond ordered the woman to take off her clothes, raped her and forced her to perform a sex act on him. Afterward, he moved her to an alley about a block away, took her car keys and told her to leave.

A description of the attacker was given to all trolley stations, and Raymond was arrested about 1 a.m. the next morning at a station in Chollas View. He had items in his possession that came from the victim’s apartment.

She told the judge Thursday that she had been struggling over the past year to put the ordeal behind her, but felt she couldn’t move forward until Raymond had been sentenced to the maximum term allowed.

“I just hope that you understand how much pain I’ve been through in the past year,” the woman said.

The San Diego Union-Tribune is not identifying the woman because she is a victim of a sex crime. Only her first name was used in court.

Deputy District Attorney Lucy Yturralde called Raymond a “predator” who had time to stop and reflect on what he was doing during the sexual assault but continued anyway.

The defendant’s parents apologized to the victims for their pain and suffering but took exception with the prosecutor’s words.

“He is a good kid that made some bad choices...,” said Duane Raymond. “I know that he’s remorseful.”

Deputy Public Defender Zaki Zehawi, argued that his client should receive a lesser prison term — 33 years to life — so that he could have some hope of parole one day.